Bubba Watson has left Travis Mathew and signed with Oakley. Watson's success over the past three years – in particular his victory at the Masters – helped boost Travis Mathew into the upper echelons of the golf apparel world, at least in terms of visibility.

Perhaps the biggest news outside of Watney's move from Titleist to Nike is that Bubba Watson has left Travis Mathew and signed with Oakley. Watson's success over the past three years – in particular his victory at the Masters – helped boost Travis Mathew into the upper echelons of the golf apparel world, at least in terms of visibility.

And Oakley, we all know, was ripe to sign a new superstar, having just lost Rory McIlroy[4]. Already this offseason, Oakley had signed Zach Johnson, and there is speculation that the company could unveil another apparel ambassador over the next few weeks. Oakley, however, has yet to issue any kind of official statement regarding Watson.

Travis Mathew, for its part, will roll out its new lineup of endorsements between Jan. 4 and Jan. 11, according to a release it issued on Monday.

The first hint that Watson was making a move came in the photo posted above, which he tweeted from Hawaii on Dec. 29. In it, eagle-eyed apparel watchers note, Watson is wearing an Oakley shirt and has Oakley sunglasses propped up on his visor as he warms up for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. There was some initial speculation that the photo itself drove a wedge between Watson and Travis Mathew, but the company says the split was in the works long before the photo was taken.

Also, we have learned that:

--Chris Kirk has gone from Titleist to Callaway
--Gary Woodland has gone from Titleist to Callaway
--2009 British Open champion Stewart Cink has gone from Nike over to TaylorMade
--2010 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover also has gone from Nike over to TaylorMade
--2012 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year John Huh has gone from Ping to TaylorMade
--Ryan Moore has gone from Adams Golf over to TaylorMade (TaylorMade owns Adams Golf, so this is an in-house move)